Table feed mechanism for grinding, smoothing, and polishing apparatus



s. 'WEROTTE 1,830,895 TABLE FEED MECHANISM FOR GRINDING, SMOOTHING, .AND' POLISHING APPARATUS Nov. 10, 1931.

Lvniarz Jm a olz n Werafie yJwgfJ dffdrn f Patented Now 10, 1931 x v I I UNITED; STATES 'P 'TE NT oF FrcE,

m m wnnorrn, or Auvnnus, BELGIUM rum ram) imcrmnrsu'ron GRINDING, smooa'nme, AND roLIsnInG-Arrm'rus Application filed January 13, 1926. Serial No. 246,487..

The present invention relates to mechanism for. effecting a uniform movement of the tablesin apparatus for grinding, smoothing and polishing plate and sheet glass, mariibleetcjin which the materials to be treated j are supported by rows of tables having a continuous movement beneath members which always perform the same work. Since certain pieces of the-materials to b treated are sometimes fastened simultaneously on several tables, it is absolutely necessary that these should remain at a fixed distance from one another. This result is obtained according to the invention, by'exertin'g the driving action of the feed at the beginning on account of the individual weight, relaof each row, the tables which are not at the driving'e'nd beingv pushed along by the tables which are driven. y l

7 On accountof the largenumber of tables 'of which each row consists in-practice, and

' tively high, of each table,the ,drivingaction of the forward feed,applied at one end of each row, must be considerable. In order.

to avoid the use of driving members of extraordinary size, the invention provides for applying'the motive power at severa-l'p'oints.

-According to one advantageous arrangement-of the invention, the tables carry toothed racks driven by pinions with theiraxes pref-.

erably vertical, so that the radial component's of the force which they exert on-t'he teeth of the rack maybe mutually equalized, on con-- ditionthat the racks are disposed on different sides of the'drivingpinions' I In addition, in order to equalize the effort transmitted to the tables. by all the pinions,

-- the invention proposes to place the pinions.

of each row parallel to the direction of the movement ofthe tables, at a distance equal to a multiple of the pitch of the teeth. in-v creased by a length equal to the pitch divided by the number of driving pinions in one IW,, Theinvention also proposes the use of differential gearing in 'each; case when the power is transmitted from a driving shaft to two driven shafts, so that 'all the pinions,

are subjected to the same stress..-

a The invention proposes also to fix the pin ions on their shafts in such a manner that i I they may be easily removedand replaced.

Finally, in the case when several rows of tables are in use, the invention proposes to.

connect rigidl 'together the motors of, the feed devices of t ginning of each row.

Other: details and invention will become evident in the course of the description of the drawings annexed installation according to the invention forgrinding, smoothing and .polishing' plate with a continuous feed motion.

Figure 1 represents a row of tables-2 on which for example plates of glass 2a maybe fastened. These tables are subjected to a continuous fe'edmotion in the direction of hetables. arranged at the bepective view with'parts characteristics of" the I glass articles fastened on tworows of'tables the arrow X,below,longitudinalmembers 3 I to which an endwise reciprocating movement 7 is imparted in the direction of the arrow Y,

and carrying revolving tools 4. In practice,

since it often happens that the plates of. glass to be treated are fastenedsimultaneously to several adjacent tables of a row, it isnecessary that these tables should remain in permanent contact'with each other. This result can be attained fOr example,-by. a positive drive ofthe first'table, that table pushing forward theisecond one and soon. But onaccount of the considerable nu ber of-tables of which a row usually consists (sometimes about-50 tables of a totallength amounting to about 250 meters) and on account of the comparatively heavy weight of each individual table; the driving powercausing the feed motion 'mustbe' very con siderable. To avoid the use of tables and motive members of extraordinary dimensions, the invention proposes to drive the row of tables at several points.

5 In the case shown, the forward feed is obtained by two rows of pinions 5' and Garranged parallel to the direction of the feed motion of the tables and gearing with racks 7 fixed to the tables.

This arrangement offers the advantage of using only tables, racks and pinions of the usual make. Besides, the motion of the tables is more regular and gives more security. The total number of pinions required may be two, four, eight, sixteen and 'even more, according to the power to be transmitted.

In the case represented in Figs. 1 and 2,

the pinions are eight in number and are dis tributed underneath the first two tables of a row.

The distance a which separates the axes of the pinions 5 or6 of the same row is, according to the invention, equal to a multiple of the pitch of'the pinion increased by a length equal to that of the pitch divided by the number of pinions in one row. The object of this arrangement is to equalize the amount of the power transmitted to the tables. In fact, it should be noted that when in gear with a rack, the component in the direction of the radius of the pressure exerted by the tooth of a pinion on the rack, is at its maximum when this tooth is at the bottom of the space between two teeth of the rack and at its minimum when the tooth in question is about to leave the end of the tooth of the rack with which it was in contact. Owing to the distance chosen, the contact of the teeth of each pinion with a certain rack, does not take place for each pinion at a similar point of the rack teeth. The points of contact of the successive pinions are stepped angularly by the amount of an angle of 360 divided by the number of pinions in one row. The total power transmitted by the different pinions of one row therefore remains constant. In fact, the solution is the same as with the angles made between the cranks of the crank shaft of a motor car.

In spite of the repartition of the driving .power over a large number of pinions, so as to allow pinions of current sizes to be employed, the component in the direction of 9 the radius of the pinions of the driving power exerted by the tooth of a pinion, owing to the slope of the faces of the rack teeth, is still sufficient to induce a movement of the table in the direction of this. component. When the pinions 5 and 6 turn round horizontal axes, the above mentioned radial components have the effectof lifting the table or tables which are positively driven, compared with those which are not. In consefl (11191199; when the plates of glass are fastened a pinion turning at an uniform velocity is simultaneously on several tables, they are broken. To avoid this inconvenience, the invention proposes to make the pinions 5 and 6 turn round vertical axes, and to make them gear with racks with vertical teeth, disposed on both sides of the pinions, so that the above mentioned radial components exercised bythe pinions of each row counterbalance.

As shown more especially in Fig.2, the invention proposes that the total driving effort may be uniformly divided amongst all the pinions by employing differential gearing 8 similar to that'used in motor cars, to transmit the motion of a driving shaft to two driven shafts.

On the left side of Fig. 2, it will be seen that a motor 9 transmits by means of a differential gear 8, a rotary motion to two shafts 10. Each of these shafts drives another differential gear 8, and the latter causes\two shafts 11 to revolve which by means of gears 11a drive further difi'erential gears 8 causing shafts 13 to revolve. These shafts 13 carry worms 1311 which gear with'worm wheels 14', on the shafts of which are keyed the above mentioned driving pinions 5 and 6.

The pinions 5 and 6 are fixed on their shafts so that they may easily be displaced. Hence in case one of the sides of the teeth of the pinions is worn by bearing against the rack, it suffices to invert the pinions or to interchange the pinions of one row with those of the other without inverting them, in order to present the other side of the teeth for contact with the rack.

When the installation for grinding, smoothing and polishing two rows of tables arranged side by side (Fig. 3) the invention proposes to unite the driving shafts of the feed devices of the two rows of tables rig-- idly together. Fig. 3 shows the motors 9 driving each row of tables as united by means of an intermediate rigid shaft 15, which enters at each end for-instance a speed-change box that also contains a differential gear.

The rigid shaft 15 has the effect of making the two motors 9 turn synchronously.

It is evident that the invention is not exclusively limited to the constructional forms shown and that many modifications may be made in the shape, the arrangement and the constitution. of the members used in its con- 1 struction, without exceeding the scope of this invention.

What I claim is:

An apparatus for grinding, smoothing and polishing glass, marble and other similar materials, including one or more rows of tables arranged one after another, a continuous forward feed mechanism for the tables disposed beneath members which always perform the same work; said feed mechanism being arranged at the beginning of the row of tables and including several driving members, and pinions on vertical axes driven by said members and gearing with racks carried by the tables, the pinions in a row parallel to the direction of movement of the tables being separated from one another by a distance equal to a multiple of the pitch of the teeth increased by a length equal to that of the pitch divided by the number of pinions in one row. y

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

SERAPHIN WEROTTE. 

